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June 18, 2009
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| JP Morgan, one of the world’s leading asset management firms, announced yesterday that it will become a major investor in Korean eco-friendly industries. The company becomes the first foreign fund that will be making a large investment in Korean green development projects. The Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy said yesterday that the U.S. investor signed an agreement in Washington to establish a “Korea Green Fund,” worth more than $1 billion. The investment deal was made on the sidelines of the summit held between Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama. The fund will invest in various eco-friendly areas, such as light-emitting diodes, renewable energy and bio energy technologies. According to the Korean government, JP Morgan will finance 30 to 40 percent of the fund through overseas investors while the remaining 60 to 70 percent will be from investors in Korea. The green fund is scheduled to launch later this year. “JP Morgan made the initial proposal of setting up the green fund in March after seeing Korea’s eco-friendly industry as promising,” said a Knowledge Economy Ministry official, who requested anonymity. The Korean government has been aggressively pursuing green technology development that will secure sustainable growth while reducing Korea’s reliance on petroleum-based energy sources. “Korea’s green industry is providing abundant investment opportunities for foreign investors,” said Lee Youn-ho, Knowledge Economy minister. The Korean government has also extended joint efforts with the U.S. government to develop eco-friendly technologies. Both governments earlier this week agreed to jointly develop the so-called “smart grid,” which is a next-generation electricity distribution system targeted at energy conservation. Minister Lee and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu agreed to cooperate in research and development as well as in forums on alternative energy. In addition, the Korea Automotive Technology Institute and the U.S. Argonne National Laboratory signed an agreement to jointly develop eco-friendly vehicles. With the agreement, the Korean government will allocate $300,000 to the Korean institute later this year and the U.S. will allocate the same amount to the Argonne laboratory. By Lee Ho-Jeong [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr] |
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